Match ends, West Ham United 2, Queens Park Rangers 0.
West HamWest Ham United2QPRQueens Park Rangers0
- West Ham climb nine places to seventh in the table
- First clean sheet of the season for the Hammers
- QPR two points from safety at the bottom
- Hoops suffer fourth straight league away defeat
West Ham climbed to seventh in the table as an own goal by Nedum Onuoha and Diafra Sakho's header left QPR two points from safety at the bottom.
The Hammers went ahead when Stewart Downing's corner struck the knee of Onuoha, standing on the edge of the six-yard area, and rolled in.
Charlie Austin fired wide from QPR substitute Bobby Zamora's cross before Sakho headed the second from a mis-hit cross by James Tomkins.
QPR have now won once in seven games.
Hoops boss Harry Redknapp has plenty to ponder during the international break after defeat at the hands of the club he managed between 1994-2001.
Not only has his side lost all four away Premier League games since winning promotion via the play-offs last season, they have scored only once in seven-and-a-half hours of league and cup action on their travels.
That does not bode well with three of the next four games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Hammers keeper Adrian was forced into a full-stretch save to keep out Niko Kranjcar's long-range 70th minute free-kick.
| Former West Ham striker John Hartson on BBC Radio 5 live: |
|---|
| "West Ham looked very comfortable and Sam Allardyce will be delighted. They go above Arsenal on goal difference. The strikers were fantastic, the defence looked assured, and Alex Song covered every blade of grass. QPR manager Harry Redknapp tried everything in terms of his substitutions, but West Ham were good value for their 2-0 win." |
But by then West Ham had the points in the bag with a performance that offered evidence their season is starting to gather momentum under Sam Allardyce.
Their second successive home win lifted them nine places up the Premier League table above Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa.
It might not have been a repeat of the sparkling display that saw off Liverpool two weeks earlier, but the Hammers kept their first clean sheet of the campaign while injured striker Andy Carroll is nearing a return to action.
QPR have not won a Premier League game away from home since 2 March, 2013 and they were behind after five minutes at Upton Park when former Manchester City defender Onuoha put through his own net.
Downing's corner appeared to strike Enner Valencia on the hand as the Hammers striker appealed for a penalty after being pushed by Austin, the ball landing on Onuoha's knee before falling into the net.
Valencia wasted a good chance to double the lead five minutes later when he fired wide after Rio Ferdinand, making his 500th Premier League appearance, deflected the ball into the Ecuador forward's path.
Austin, the scorer of QPR's only away goal, wasted two chances before the unmarked Sakho doubled the lead in the 59th minute with a close-range header when Tomkins's looped the ball over Rob Green.
Redknapp's team were fortunate not to suffer a heavier defeat, Hammers substitute Kevin Nolan firing straight at Green from 12-yards when unmarked.
QPR manager Harry Redknapp:
"We're short - we're short of goals, we're short up front. It's been difficult, we lost Loic Remy on the deadline and couldn't get a replacement. We've had a tough start but there's an awful long way to go.
"There's a lot of teams down there - one win changes everything. You have to keep going. It's early days.
"We have to find a way of playing that suits everybody and get the best out of what we've got."
Line-ups
West Ham
Formation 4-1-2-1-2
- 13Adrián
- 18Jenkinson
- 5TomkinsBooked at 49mins
- 2Reid
- 3CresswellBooked at 83mins
- 30Song
- 21Amalfitano
- 11Downing
- 10ZárateSubstituted forNolanat 76'minutes
- 31E ValenciaSubstituted forJarvisat 85'minutes
- 15Sakho
Substitutes
- 4Nolan
- 7Jarvis
- 22Jääskeläinen
- 23Poyet
- 24Cole
- 32Burke
- 36Lee
QPR
Formation 4-5-1
- 1Green
- 15Onuoha
- 4Caulker
- 5Ferdinand
- 3Traore
- 23HoilettSubstituted forZamoraat 45'minutes
- 20HenryBooked at 89mins
- 10Fer
- 30Guimaraes CordeiroBooked at 14minsSubstituted forTaarabtat 67'minutes
- 19KranjcarSubstituted forMutchat 78'minutes
- 9Austin
Substitutes
- 12McCarthy
- 14Isla
- 17Mutch
- 22Dunne
- 24Vargas
- 25Zamora
- 27Taarabt
- Referee:
- Anthony Taylor
- Attendance:
- 34,907
Match Stats
Home TeamWest HamAway TeamQPR
- Possession
- Home48%
- Away52%
- Shots
- Home11
- Away10
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away3
- Corners
- Home7
- Away5
- Fouls
- Home10
- Away11
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, West Ham United 2, Queens Park Rangers 0.
Post update
Foul by Bobby Zamora (Queens Park Rangers).
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James Tomkins (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Nedum Onuoha (Queens Park Rangers) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Bobby Zamora with a cross.
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Attempt blocked. Adel Taarabt (Queens Park Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Booking
Karl Henry (Queens Park Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Karl Henry (Queens Park Rangers).
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Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Attempt saved. Kevin Nolan (West Ham United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Stewart Downing.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Nedum Onuoha.
Substitution
Substitution, West Ham United. Matthew Jarvis replaces Enner Valencia.
Booking
Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Adel Taarabt (Queens Park Rangers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Foul by Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United).
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Attempt saved. Jordon Mutch (Queens Park Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Adel Taarabt.
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Attempt missed. Adel Taarabt (Queens Park Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Bobby Zamora with a headed pass.
Substitution
Substitution, Queens Park Rangers. Jordon Mutch replaces Niko Kranjcar.
Substitution
Substitution, West Ham United. Kevin Nolan replaces Mauro Zárate.
Post update
Foul by Niko Kranjcar (Queens Park Rangers).
